


The Sound of Silence

by NotesInTheMargins



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, Flirting, Lot's of people dying, M/M, Mom Steve, Pretty much every character from Stranger Things is in this, Protective Siblings, Redemption, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-03 04:15:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13333296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotesInTheMargins/pseuds/NotesInTheMargins
Summary: Steve Harrington's life is a mess. He knows this because there's dead people trying to eat him.Basically just that zombie story that absolutely no one asked for.





	1. The Breakout

The station is crowded. There's not enough seats left for the scared citizens of Hawkins, Indiana, to occupy; not even enough wall space for Steve to lean back against as he listens to the frightened and anguished cries of those around him, the terrified questions being thrown at any officer they cast their eyes upon. Steve sighs, dragging his hand down his face and letting his head fall back. There's too much noise, too many complaints all blurring together in a cacophony of panicked wailing. Too loud. Too much. He can already feel the headache forming when he hears his name called, one voice standing out amongst all the rest. 

“Steve?” Dustin is standing by the entrance, having just entered with a scratch down the side of his face and a frantic mother grasping onto his hand like he could disappear at any second. Steve smiles, moving from his space between an older man with blood seeping through the bandages wrapped around his forearm and his parents, who are facing away from him to aggressively question officer Callahan, and heads over to the young boy who'd become like the little brother Steve had always wished for growing up. 

“What happened?” He nods towards Dustin's smiling face, eyes on the jagged scratch decorating the young boys smiling face, concern ebbing away at him. 

“I fell. There was this man, my teacher, you should've seen him, Steve, his face was all gross and he was coming towards me and mum and I fell when we were trying to get away. He grabbed my leg and I scrapped my face on the ground and I kicked him, Steve, it was so cool” Dustin sounds a weird mix of excited and terrified and Steve honestly doesn't get it because with everything he's heard since his parent's had booked it to the station with him, he's just fully terrified. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary on the way to the station, other than the onslaught of people rushing through the doors, the screams about the hospital being over crowded and the clutter of cars crashed into any available space in the parking lot. No, his terror isn't based around anything he's actually seen, but rather on the words tumbling from people's mouths depicting mangled bodies stumbling towards them and teeth biting down into flesh relentlessly. He's seen the evidence of that too, since entering the police station. There's a girl from school, Trisha or Tanya or Tracy or something, standing with a gaping wound on her leg courtesy of her 'crazy fuck of an ex-boyfriend'. Steve thinks it looks more like the product of an animal attack. There she sits though, crying in her daddy's arms, waiting to be seen so she can press charges against Scotty, which is crazy, because from what he can tell, Scotty certainly isn't the only one with a newly acquired taste for human flesh. 

“Hopper! I need to see you, Hopper!” And Mrs. Henderson is off, Dustin's hand still tightly gripped by her own as she rushes towards the tired chief of police. Dustin's free hand quickly clenches into Steve's polo, grabbing a fist full of the fabric and dragging the older boy along behind him. 

They reach Hopper quickly, his hands help up as others spot him and come rushing over expecting him to have all the answers to everything. If Steve wasn't so utterly confused by it all, he'd probably take the time to feel bad for Hopper. He spots his own parent's in the crowd and can't help but sign when he realizes that they haven't even noticed that he's no longer stood with them. He quickly turns his attention back to Hopper though when he starts to speak, “I need everyone to just calm down.”

No one calms down. Steve's headache is getting worse, the uncomfortable throbbing in his skull fast becoming an agonizing pounding.

“EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP!”

That certainly didn't help, and Steve winces, lifting his hands up to cradle his skull and squeezing his eyes shut; he hasn't had nearly enough sleep, and the fluorescent lights in the station are too bright and the room is too crowded, too hot, and he's confused damn it. 

“I know everyone is confused, I know you all want to know what's going on, and I know you're scared, but you'll get no help yelling at my men. The best thing for everyone right now is for you all to go home, lock your doors and your windows and wait for us to contact you.”

The crowd slowly filters back; disappointment and seething anger seeming to vibrate through the air around them as they direct furious glares in Hopper's direction and Steve's already tense, squaring his shoulders and, hell, planting his feet, as he anticipates a fight breaking out in the station that could potentially end in gun fire. 

It doesn't. The crowd slowly dissipates, staggering through the doors to quickly approach their cars with the aid of the much less terrifying officers in the station. Steve hears whispers as they leave, spiteful voices claiming that Hawkins police are useless fucks, that they'll have to leave the town because they're not staying here to be attacked whilst Hopper sits back and does nothing. 

If only they knew how much the man had really done for this town.

Hopper turns his attention then to Mrs. Henderson, still attached to Dustin who's still attached to Steve via his polo shirt. “You three, my office” and then he's walking , steady strides towards his office despite the slight shaking of his hands as he itches for a cigarette, or a coffee, or both. Dustin's grip tightens in his shirt to stop Steve from following his parents to their car and, Christ, have they really forgotten that he was even with them? “Come on, Steve” and he's stumbling unceremoniously forward with the combined strength of Dustin and his mother pulling him because they're still all joined.

Hopper's office is a mess, papers scattered across his desk and some, crumpled into balls, decorating the worn floor. Three empty coffee cups are lined along the windowsill and there's a half full cup sat on his desk, the liquid inside probably cold by now. Hopper's jacket is thrown over the back of his chair, close to just falling on the floor and there's a half eaten doughnut on top of some, most likely important, papers with crumbs falling from it. 

There's a board on the wall, filled with words and question marks and pinned papers and more words. Steve scans his eyes over the mess, his sights lingering on words like: epidemic, virus, fever, contagious. The list goes on. Steve has no idea what any of it even means. 

Hopper clears his throat, coughing gruffly into his clenched fist. “Take a seat” he nods towards the two chairs sitting in front of his desk, collapsing down into his chair as he does so, the action causing his jacket to lose it's balance and fall down to the floor behind him. The two Henderson's quickly drop down into the seats he'd indicated to, Dustin's hand finally loosening from Steve's polo, leaving the fabric crinkled in his wake. 

Once seated, Mrs. Henderson immediately begins to speak, “my baby's cheek, Hopper, he was attacked!” Her voice is quivering, worried and nervous and terrified and Steve can relate to all of those emotions. He can even understand why she still has Dustin's hand clutched in her own because Steve wants to protect the boy himself, keep him away from all danger. All of the kids, they've been through too much already. 

“Believe me, Mrs. Henderson, we're trying our hardest to figure this all out. Now, Dustin, you were attacked, can you describe the assailant?” 

Dustin responds in a rush, still that weird, confusing combination of excitement and terror and nervousness. “Uh, yeah, right, so it was Mr. Fuller, I think, you know, the English teacher at school, he lives just down the road from us.”

“You think?”

“Well, he looked kind of, I don't know, dead. It was Mr. Fuller but his skin was all gross and peeling and he was bleeding, oh, and he wouldn't speak, he just like...” Dustin starts imitating then, some sort of pained groaning sound and Steve's heard that sound. He'd heard it when his parents were shoving him towards the car. He'd heard it from the man advancing towards them from down the street, one of his fathers associates and all Steve had though upon seeing him was how strange it was that he'd gone out with his suit looking so messy. He'd looked almost drunk. 

“Okay, I'm going to send an officer with you back to your house, he'll check out the area. The two of you go straight inside, lock everything up and sit tight, we'll get this figured out.” Hopper stands up, walking over to the door and yelling out “Powell, escort the Henderson's home, make sure they're safe, check the area and then report back.” Steve hears a faint 'yes, chief' thrown back and then the Henderson's are exiting the office, Dustin being pulled up by his mother and pulled over to officer Powell. 

Steve goes to follow, mentally mapping out his quickest route home without a car. He runs his hand through his hair and further messes up the strands that he'd been given no time to style this morning. “Steve, wait a second” and he pauses, waits for Hopper to continue. Hopper grabs his jacket from the floor, pats the pocket to check that his keys are there and then walks ahead of Steve. “I'll drive you home, kid, saw your parents leave before.” and, Lord, Steve has never felt so relieved. He really didn't want to have to walk home right now, not after everything he's heard in the past hour alone. The two of them head out of the station together, leaving Officer Callahan and the receptionist behind. Steve clambers into the passenger side of Hoppers Chevy and immediately rests his head against the cool glass window. 

The past two and half years of Steve's life have been turbulent at best. He's been plagued with nightmares of petal faced monsters and razor sharp teeth and shadow monsters and slimy tunnels. Every night he watches as those demons, the demo-dogs, tear into Dustin's flesh because it was almost real. He couldn't protect the kid and Dustin could have died. He's faced monsters, the terror of almost losing the kids to them, the whirlwind that was Billy Hargrove's entrance to the small town, a broken down relationship with a girl who'd never really loved him, the loss of the only friends he'd even known and now this. Whatever this even is. As a kid he'd hated small time life, couldn't wait to leave and lead a more exciting life. Now, he wishes for nothing more than that regular, normal, small town life. 

“You alright, kid?” Hopper asks, tapping Steve's shoulder as he starts up the car and pulls out of the now almost empty lot. 

“Yeah... I'm alright.”

“No you're not, but we've got this, Steve, it's not the upside down, El closed the gate and whatever this is, it can't be worse than that.” 

Steve hopes he's right, hopes he can return home, go to bed and wake up hours later to good news. He gives Hopper a quick nod before turning to look out the front window. The roads empty save for an older woman standing off to the side around twenty years ahead of them. She has her arms wrapped around a young boy and he's pushing at her. The car carries on forwards and Steve can see the boys face now, contorted in pain and for a brief second he thinks 'well, fuck, this kid really hates hugs', but then the old woman is pulling back and there's blood. Holy shit, there's so much blood and she's got flesh clamped between blackened teeth and Steve's going to be sick. 

The car stops, Hopper jumping out, gun in hand and the woman faces him. There's blood smeared down her chin and she's chewing the flesh between her teeth. Steve opens his door then, leaning out as the bile climbs it's way up his throat and splatters across the ground below him. The young boy pushes away from the older woman then, he looks younger that Dustin, maybe ten years old, and Steve watches as he stumbles back, hands clutched to his neck as he falls to the floor, and then he's puking again. Just a kid. He wants to cry, scream, yell, at least help, but he can't, he just watched a child die at the hands of the kind older woman who's sold him bread and milk at the check-out counter just two days ago.

“Stop right there, miss, hands in the air” Hopper has his gun up, pointing directly between the woman's eyes as he yells. She stumbles forward a step and opens her mouth, there's flesh caught between her teeth and a lump falls from her tongue, chewed up and bloodied, and splats to the floor by her feet. Another step forward, and there's that sound, the pained groaning sound as she reaches grey arms out towards the chief. 

“This is your last warning. STOP!”

She takes another stumbled step forward, and Hopper pulls the trigger. Steve's hands come up to cover his ears as the piercing bang reverberates through his skull. The woman's hand snaps back as the bullet crashes into her skull and she falls back, blood already dripping from the would down her face. 

He catches Hopper's eye then, sees the blood splatter on the chiefs cheek, and the shock in the older man's eyes that must be reflected in his own. Hopper takes one step towards the car before he freezes, and Steve freezes too because there's that groaning noise again. Steve watches in disbelief as the young boy begins to stand, chunks of flesh missing from his neck and his top stained with his own blood. Steve watches as the boy makes a stumbled step towards Hopper, the boy who he'd seen die, now reaching out with lifeless eyes as he groans and stumbles and doesn't stop. 

Hopper moves back a step then too and raises his hands to aim his gun. This time, Steve has his eyes closed and his ears covered before he fires. He doesn't want to watch a child die twice, so he hides in darkness until he hears the car door slam and the engine start and Hopper's voice telling him to get that bloody door shut. 

Steve's mind is reeling. The boy had been dead. He thinks of the wound on the boys neck. The bite would. Tracy or Tammy had once too, and the man that Steve had been stood next to in the station, it had been bleeding, the red soaking through the bandages. He thinks of the pained groaning sound, the sound that Dustin had imitated in the office, and the word on the board, contagious, and then his heart's hammering and his breath is catching in his throat because fuck!

“There was one at Dustin's house.” 

Hopper doesn't respond, just takes the next turn towards the Hendersons house and he presses his foot down on the gas as he switches the radio on to ask El if she's safe and then listens to her Morse code response. 

 

 

Yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while since I've written anything (yeah, sorry if this is terrible) but I'm absolutely obsessed with Stranger Things and so, of course, I'm making the really smart decision to write a fic instead of doing my essay, or, you know, my other essay that I need to do because, yeah, I have 2 due in next week that I haven't even started. I'm also writing a Lost Boys/Stranger Things crossover thing as well because that's my favourite movie and Billy so belongs in the Lost Boys. However, for now, here's my attempt at starting a zombie AU. I hope you all like it.


	2. Rescue Mission

It’s not long before they’re turning onto Dustin’s street. Steve feels sick all over again, but the feeling is overridden by the overwhelming urge to make sure the family of two are safe.

Hopper puts the car into park behind officer Powell’s car and they both quickly jump out.

The drivers side door of Powell’s car has been left open and even from this distance Steve can see the bloody smear down the side, like someone had grabbed at it in a vain attempt to keep their balance whilst bleeding out. He thinks of horror movies, of people reaching out with blood soak hands, leaving hand prints in their wake, and he wonders when the fuck his life became some low-budget horror movie.

“Come on, let’s go” Hopper says gruffly, beginning to walk towards the Henderson’s front door, followed quickly by Steve. The older man knocks his fist against the door three times in quick succession. “Mrs. Henderson, it’s Chief Hopper.”

There’s no answer.

“They have a spare key, it’s just...” Steve lifts up three different plant pots before finding what he’s looking for, “yes, here.”

He quickly unlocks the door, pushes it open and takes a tentative step inside. “Dustin!” His voice sounds hoarse from both puking up and the crippling fear shooting through him. He wishes more than ever that he could have his bat with him, the sturdy baseball bat riddled with nails that he never thought he’d even want to look at again.

“You check upstairs, kid, I’ll look down here.”

Steve nods. He grabs at the closest, solid looking object he can find, one of Mrs Henderson’s ornaments, and begins his descent up the stairs.

He steps over the fourth step knowing that it creeks and shuffles as quickly and as quietly as possible along the hallway to the first closed door he sees.

“Dustin?” He whispers, leaning in closer to the door to see if he can hear anything.

“Steve?”

“Yeah, bud, it’s me.”

The door clicks open and slides along to reveal the smiling boy’s face. He’s got his walker talkie in his hand, finger hovering over the button ready, and his mother is standing just a couple of feet behind him with wide eyes and shaking hands a pale sheen to her skin.

“Is Powell here too?” He can’t see the man in the room.

“He went outside to check the area like Hopper told him and he didn’t come back, we heard yelling and there... there was one, one of those things.” Claudia Henderson’s voice is shaky, weak and quiet and so fearful.

“Right, okay, well Hopper is downstairs now, we should get going.” Steve steps back and holds his arm up to motion for the two to follow behind him before stepping foreward with his weapon raised, ready to strike if need be.

“Um, Steve? Why do you have a cat?” Dustin asks. Steve glances quickly to the ornament as his hand, the sculpture of a cat looking suspiciously like Mews did.

“Oh, ah, I didn’t... it was heavy.” He mutters, tightening his grip on the sculptured animal.

He descends the stairs slowly, keeping his steps quiet as the two Henderson’s follow behind him. He’s halfway down the staircase when he hears footsteps walking towards them and he freezes; holding out his arm to keep Dustin behind him. Hopper walks around the corner, his gun held in one hand and a bloodied up kitchen knife in the other.

“Another one?” Steve asks, eyes taking in the blood dripping to the floor by Hopper’s feet. The older man nods, looking forlorn.

“Powell. I took care of it.”

“Okay. We should go.”

Steve quickly moves down the rest of the stairs, Dustin hurrying behind him with his crying mother clutching at his arm. The group leave the house and rush to Hopper’s car, frantically diving into the spacious Chevy and slamming the doors shut behind them.

Hopper starts the engine and peels off down the road as Dustin’s radio starts to crackle.

“Dustin, do you copy? This is Mike.”

Dustin is quick to press his finger to the button, lifting the radio up to his mouth as he speaks.

“Yeah, Mike, I copy, are the others there?”

“The Lucas and Will and their families are all my my house now. Max isn’t responding, we have to go get her after you get here and then we’ll go find El.”

Dustin goes to respond, his finger already pressed firmly into the button when Hopper reaches back, snatching the radio from his hand and beginning to speak into it.

“Listen kid, I don’t want any of you running around trying to be heroes, right? I’m dropping the Henderson’s off at your house and then I will get Max and El. The rest of you stay put, you get that?”

Mike doesn’t respond, just radio silence answering Hopper’s words. Steve reaches over to grab the radio.

“I’m gonna need a ‘yes’ here, Mike.”

There’s a few more seconds of silence before the radio cackles and Mike voice comes through quietly saying “yes, Steve.”

Mike sounds like it pains him to leave rescuing the remaining two party members to Chief Hopper, but it’s a yes and Steve will take it.

It only takes them another 5 minutes to get to the Wheeler residence with Hopper steadily ignoring the speed limit. Mr. Sinclair’s car is parked behind Jonathon’s and Hopper pulls up behind the two. They all quickly move towards the house, entering without knocking this time, and are greeted by a small crowd of worried friends and family.

Ted Wheeler is on his lazy boy, Karen sat on the arm with Holly on her lap. The couch is occupied by Nancy, Jonathan, Will and Mike, all of them crammed onto the two seater, Joyce standing behind it with a hand on each of her sons shoulders. Lucas is leaning against the wall, Erica and his parents surrounding him and Dustin quickly rushes over to join him, his mother trailing behind with tears still running down her face.

Steve stays standing on the doorway and clenches his hands by his sides, not knowing what to do or say. His eyes scan over the couch as Hopper takes quick strides in the direction of Joyce Byers. He looks at the way Nancy has her hand resting just above Jonathan’s knee and how he has his arm sling around her shoulders, letting her curl into his side. He looks at how well they fit together as the comfort one another. He looks until he can’t look any more and then he’s turning around, walking towards the front door because all he wants right now is to be back home.

“Steve?”

That’s Nancy voice. He glances back at her. Her eyes are wide and sad concerned. They aren’t the only eyes staring him down. Nancy’s voice had drawn the attention of every occupant in the room and now they’re all staring at him.

He doesn’t know what to say. How do you tell someone you’d rather face Hell than watch them love someone more than they ever loved you?

“Come on” Hopper grunts, walking over to Steve and clapping a hand down on his shoulder. He nods his head towards the door, indicating for Steve to follow behind him and then starts walking. Steve doesn’t move until Hopper calls back over his shoulder that they “still have two more kids to save.”

Steve hurriedly follows behind him them, making sure to pull the front door closed behind him on his way out. He almost feels lighter outside, without all of those concerned eyes staring him down. Then he remembers what outside means now and he’s rushing towards Hopper’s car.

“I need my car.” Steve says once Hopper starts driving. “The bat, it’s in my car, and I should check on my parents too, if they’re still home. My house is close, if you drop me off there before driving to Max’s I can follow behind you. I know the way, I’ve taken her home once before.”

“Yeah, okay.” Hopper nods his head before sending a message over the radio. He doesn’t waste time with Morse code this time, instead just asking if El is safe and getting the same response as the last time, only this time the little girls voice crackles over the radio inside of a set of beeps.

Hopper lets out a sigh of relief as he picks up speed towards Steve’s house.

When they pull up in front of the large house the first thing Steve notices is that his parents car is gone. He wonders if they even came home in the first place.

“Go get Max. I’ll be right behind you.” He jumps from the car, takes a deep breathe - reminds himself that he fought a fucking demogorgon once, this is nothing - and begins walking up to the house that looks even bigger now, colder, darker and completely uninviting.

Hopper droves off straight away and Steve quickens his pace. He doesn’t want to be here alone for longer than absolutely the necessary.

The house is quiet when he steps inside. There’s no parents talking in the living room or arguing up the stairs which disappoints him more than he’d like to admit. He’s supposed to be used to his absentee parents by now but it never fails to feel like a punch to the gut when they forget him. There’s also no shuffling or groaning or the sound of flesh being peeled from bones, which has him breathing out the breath he hadn’t even known he’d been holding in relief.

A quick look in the kitchen let’s him know that his parents did come home. There’s a scribbled note stuck to the refrigerator and he pulls it off, reading it quickly as he ascends the stairs towards his room.

Steven,

Your father and I are sure what’s happening in Hawkins right now will be sorted out in no time. We’re going to be staying with one of your fathers associates for a short while as it’s dealt with. Lock the doors once you’re back home and stay safe.

Mum.

Steve scoffs after reading the note. He crumpled the paper up and throws it back down the stairs behind him.

He ignores the feeling, like another punch to the gut, and he ignores the slight stinging in his eyes as he opens the door to his bedroom. He’s used to this, and it’s better that they’re safe anyway.

He grabs his jacket and shoves clean clothes in a bag before grabbing his keys from the cabinet by his bed and rushing back down the stairs. He steps on the note as he leaves, squashing mud into the crumpled paper and he slams his front door behind him.

There’s a man down the street. He’s burly and bleeding and from this distance Steve can’t tell if he’s a victim or a monster. He doesn’t wait around to find out either.

He jumps into his car, starts her up and dumps his bag on the passenger seat. His heart slows a little now, in the safety of his car with a nail-riddled bat resting in the boot as he speeds down the road towards the Hargrove residence. 

It’s not a long drive. Everything in Hawkins is close by and he’s pulling up behind Hoppers car within ten minutes of jumping into his own.

Billy’s Camaro is in the drive way, parked up beside an old Ford. Steve quickly clambers from his car, stepping around it to the boot to grab his bat. He holds the handle in a tight grip as he approaches the door and knocks loudly on the wood.

The door is pulled open almost instantly by Hopper. He looks disgruntled.

“Where’s Max?” Steve asks upon not seeing the red head following behind the older man.

“Her step fathers a hard man to convince” Hopper reaches a hand up and rubs it over his bearded chin, “he said his family is safest in that house and that not one of them is leaving. That, if I’m so concerned about their safety, I should do my damn job and sort this out."

Steve hits his bat against a garden ornament as they walk back towards the cars. He can’t help but to this that Max’s step dad sounds like a dick.

“We can just tell the others that Max is safe. They’ll have to be okay with that, I can’t very well kidnap the girl” Hopper says, his voice gruff like his conversation with Neil Hargrove involved more yelling that he’s letting on.

Steve freezes, his bat swing over his shoulder and his hair flopping down into his face.

“Wait, I’ll be one minute” Steve’s already rushing back to the house as he speaks. He ignores Hopper as the older man yells out an indignant response and makes his way around the side of the house to the back garden.

He picks up a handful of pebbles from the ground and stands for a second, debating which window to throw them at. He doesn’t want to accidentally start throwing stones at Neil’s window.

He’s about to throw the first one when a window slides open, a bag falling out followed by a head of red hair.

“Hurry up, would you” Steve drops the stones at the sound of Billy’s voice, the noise alerting Max to his presence as she comments back "I'm going as fast as I can" and pulls her leg over the window ledge. She grins at him as she drops down from the window and picks up her bag. Another bag is pushed out behind her, this one followed by the buff form of Billy Hargrove clambering through the opened window.

“Steve, what are you doing here?” Max asks as she gets closer. Steve’s still looking at Billy as he replies, his eyes wide. “I’m Uh, I’m with Hopper.”

Billy makes his way over to them then, a smirk on his lips.

“Well, lets get going then, Harrington.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got my essays finished so here's chapter 2!


	3. The Bat

Steve looks between the two siblings, his mind reeling as his eyes dart back and forth. His grip slackens around the handle of the bat and he’s sure his mouth is gaping because why the fuck is Hargrove suddenly joining them?

“Cat got your tongue, Harrington?” Billy smirks, tongue sliding out between his teeth and one eyebrow raised slightly as he pulls his bag up over his shoulder.

Steve shakes his head a little, watching Hargrove’s hand as he moves. He nods his head forward, indicating towards the deep gash across the younger boys flesh, “you’re bleeding.”

Billy glances down and shrugs. “Fucking smashed glass.” He grumbles before storming forward, his shoulder checking into Steve’s as he walks past.

Steve’s gaze flickers to Max, taking in her wide eyes and messy hair. He offers a half-hearted smile and lifts his bat up onto his shoulder.

“Let’s get going then.”

Max nods, hefting her own bag up and beginning to walk in step with the older teen. Steve wants to say something; ask what happened to make Billy bleed or why she’s even sneaking off with Hargrove in the first place. The last he checked Max and her step brother were ignoring each other. Billy had heeded her warning that night at the Byer’s house and replaced his usual taunts and jabs towards Steve and the kids with frosty glares and deafening silence. He doesn’t ask her though, not with Hargrove stamping over towards his BMW just feet ahead of them.

“Wait in the car, I have to speak with Hopper for a second.” Steve tosses his keys Max as he speaks and waits for her to run over and unlock his car before heading towards Hopper’s Chevy.

“We were meant to try to pick up Max, kid. We can’t just kidnap both of Neil Hargrove’s children.” Hopper sighs, dragging his hand down over his mouth and beard and glancing at Steve with exasperation.

“They snuck out,” he defends. “Besides, you know if we don’t bring Max back with us all the kids are just going to run off trying to find her and then none of them will be safe.” Steve still doesn’t know what part of this plan is supposed to involve Hargrove lounging in the passenger seat of his car. The least the guy could do is take his own damn car.  
“Anyway. You want me to head back to the Wheeler’s house or should I follow you to the cabin?”

“Follow me. Don’t want to leave you three alone in this.”

Hopper turns the key in the ignition as Steve nods and watches through his side mirror as the teen heads back over to his car before beginning to drive to the cabin.

Steve follows close behind, keeping his eyes firmly locked on the road and not on the asshole moving around in the seat beside his. Max is sat in the back seat, both her bag and Billy’s resting on either side of her. “Where are we going?” She asks, her left hand playing with the strap of her own overstuffed bag.

“We’re getting El- Jane. Then we’re meeting everyone at the Wheeler’s house to come up with a plan of action.” Steve responds. Billy snorts at the mention of the Wheeler house, a lazy smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he closes his eyes and leans his head back. Steve dreads to think where the other boys mind is.

The drive is silent after that. Steve lets his eyes wander beyond the stretch of road in front of him. He looks to the houses lining the street, scanning over the differences - the reminders that nothing is the same anymore. There’s shattered glass littering the lawns and blood smeared across doorways. He casts his eyes down to his rear view mirror and jolts at the sight that greets him. There’s a man staggering from a house, mouth hanging open with thick blood gushing out and spilling over his lower lip down his chin. One hand hangs limp at his side, twisted at an odd angle with flayed flesh torn from the born and muscle.

“Harrington!” Billy’s voice drags his attention back from the disturbing sight, giving Steve just enough time to spot that Hopper’s car has stopped moving and to slam his foot down on the breaks, stalling his car and sending it sliding towards the larger one in front. The tyres screech across the concrete as his car stops just inches from the older mans.  
“Fuck, Harrington, you trying to get us killed?” Billy yells, his arm sling out between his and Steve’s seats like a barrier to protect Max.

“No, shit, sorry, you could’ve taken your own car.”

Billy just shrugs, “Old man took my keys.”

Steve goes to respond when a tapping sounds on his window causing his heart to hammer as his head quickly turns to face the source. Hopper is leaning in towards the window, gun still clutched in his hand.

Steve rolls his window down.

“Come on. We can cut through the forest from here.” The three teens quickly step out of the car in response, Steve pocketing his keys and grabbing his bat in the process.

Max quickly rushes ahead, falling in step beside the sheriff. Steve assumes she must feel safer with the older man, he knows that he does. Hargrove chooses to sidle up towards Steve, his eyes lingering on the nail-riddled bat.

“Mind if I use that?” The blonde reaches his hand out, fingers outstretched towards where Steve’s are tightly clutched around the handle.

“If I’m the one you’re planning to use it on then, yes, I do mind.”

He quickens his steps, trying to close the distance between himself and Hopper who has already made it across the road.

“Not you, Harrington, wouldn’t want to bust up that pretty face again.

Steve glares at the other teen, opening his mouth ready to yell about how Billy is the last person he would trust with a weapon, but stops himself when he sees Billy jerk his head slightly, indicating to the figure still steadily staggering closer.

The man is closer now. Steve can see the rotten flesh peeling from his cheek and the thick blood oozing from an eye socket that looks gauged into.

“Give me the bat, Steve.”

“No. I’ve got it.”

Steve raises his bat and steps past the younger teen. He doesn’t bother to look at Billy’s wide eyes and curious smirk. He doesn’t take the time to acknowledge Hopper’s yells from across the street. He just takes another step forward, and then another, closing the gap between him and the bloodied mass that was once a man.

He lifts his bat, both hands clasped around the handle and, with all his force, makes a swooping swing through the air. The bat collides with the man’s head, sharp nails slicing through the skin of his temple and sending more thick, black blood down his rotting face.

He pulls back, a disturbing squelch filling the air as the nails are pulled from the flesh, and lifts the bat up high over his head. The corpse begins to buckle in front of him as he brings the bat back down again ferociously, listening to the crunching of the mans skull as it crashes into the crown of his head this time.

He brings the bat down again and again; watches as the corpse crumples to the ground in a heap as blood and brain matter seep out from the cracked skull and torn flesh onto the road.

He brings the bat down one last time, blood splashing up onto his clothes and smattering along his cheek as a scream is torn from his throat. It’s not the only scream he hears.  
The sound of Max screaming out in panic has him reeling around to face the small group behind him, blood soaked bat raised high yet again.

Steve breathes heavily as he runs his eyes over the trio. Hopper looks concerned, a frown tugging at his mouth and his hand resting on Max’s shoulder. He drops his eyes to the young girl; takes in her wide-eyed stare and her shaking fists and feels guilt churn in his gut. He just lost control.

He’s scared too.

He glances over at Billy last. The younger teen looks the least affected just staring at Steve with his head slightly tilted.

Max’s voice breaks the silence. “Steve?”

She sounds terrified.

“I’m alright, I’m good. Sorry. I just, Uh... I’m alright now.” Steve stumbles over his words, voice thick and heavy in his throat.

“Yeah, you’re good,” Billy nods, stepping forward to tug the bat from Steve’s hand, “you’re good. Let’s just go now, huh?”

Steve surrenders the bat up to the younger boy. He notices how Billy looks at it with slight trepidation, like he's remembering the sight of it slammed into the floorboards between his thighs, just inches from his junk. In any other situation, Steve might of laughed at the look on Billy’s face. Right now though, the sight of an obliterated skull is seared into his mind and all Steve wants to do is scream.

He glances back at the sight and feels bile rise up in his throat. He did that.

Billy’s hand on his back brings his attention forwards again, “come on, Harrington, keep moving.”

They step into the tree line, Max once again falling into step beside Hopper and allowing him to distract her with tales of his high school days and stories of El.

“Who is this El or Jane person anyway?” Billy asks, pulling his cigarettes from his pocket and lighting one up.

“Hopper’s daughter.” Steve responds, “and her name is Jane.”

“The chief has a daughter? I didn’t know that.”

Steve runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head, clenching his eyes shut in an attempt to clear his mind of the image now burned into his brain.

His eyes spring open again when his foot catches on a stick on the ground, sending him stumbling forward unceremoniously.

Billy’s hand around his arm stops him from falling flat on his face in the dirt. Steve looks back at him - weapon held in one hand, the other holding Steve up and a lit cigarette dangling between his lips - and pulls his arm from the younger teens grasp.

“Thanks.” He grunts.

They walk in silence for a while. Silence that gives Steve time to think; to think about the corpses stalking the streets, to think about his parents leaving him behind and the monsters he knew before this. The secrets he has to keep. He thinks about the crushed skull decorating the road just feet from his car and then he doesn’t want to think anymore.

“She’s adopted.”

Billy’s head jerks to face him, surprised. “Huh?”

“Jane. She’s adopted.” Steve adds, focusing on Billy instead of the images plaguing his mind.

“Yeah? Why’s he keep her in some cabin in the woods?”

Billy takes the cigarette from his mouth, puffing out smoke around the words as he speaks, and offers it over to Steve, “smoke?”

“She and Hopper did it up together, I think.” Steve takes the smoke, lifting it up to his mouth and wrapping his lips around the slightly dampened end. He inhales and holds the smoke in his lungs for a few seconds before breathing it out, “she likes it there.”

He passes the smoke back.

“Sounds creepy to me.” Billy shrugs, taking another drag.

“It’s not. She’s just, she was safe here.” Steve defends. “Why are you here anyway?”

“You drove me here, Harrington, remember?”

“No, I mean, why did you come?”

Steve glances over and watches as Billy’s eyes harden and his fist tightens around the wooden handle held within it.

“Told you, old man took my keys.” He shrugs, taking another drag before passing the cigarette back to Steve, “besides, I wasn’t about to let my 13 year old sister sneak off with you again.”

Steve scoffs out a laugh.

“It wasn’t like... man, i was just babysitting.”

Billy glares over at him, his blue eyes piercing into Steve’s own. “Yeah, okay. You keep your dirty secret, Harrington. I’ll figure it out eventually.”

Steve pauses, one foot frozen in mid-air as he takes in Billy’s steely gaze. He glances down, his eyes tracing the movement of Billy’s tongue as it slides out to run along the length of his bottom lip before his mouth quirks into a smirk.

He shakes his head before responding. “No secret, just babysitting.”

Billy laughs, a dark chuckle pulled from his throat, and shrugs his shoulders.

“We’re here.” Hopper’s voice breaks them from their stare off. The cabin isn’t far in front of them. Steve quickens his steps, striding up beside Hopper and listening as the lock on the door clicks open. The door swings open and Jane strides forward, ringlets framing her face and large brown eyes scanning over the four of them.

“Jim?” She asks quietly.

“Come on, kid, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's another one. Finally.


End file.
